Whigs

The Whigs were a liberal faction of British politics that existed from 1678 to 1859. The Whigs originated as the opponents of the Catholic James II of England's monarchy, opposing the reactionary Tory Party in favor of a constitutional monarchy. The Whigs advocated a completely deregulated economy, a smaller army, religious freedom, and limited rights for immigrants and minorities, opposing the Tories' control over the economy and their bigotry. As a result of the failed 1715 uprising of the Tory Jacobites, the Whigs came to power, leading Great Britain from 1715 to 1760. Robert Walpole and Henry Pelham were the two major leaders of the party during this time period, and party leader Charles James Fox would advocate abolitionism and parliamentary reform during the late 18th century. The Whigs were once allied to the Protestant Hanoverian dynasty, but they became the representatives of merchants and industrialists as the Tories abandoned Jacobitism in favor of gaining the support of the royal family and the aristocracy. Ironically, it would be the Whigs that argued for Catholic emancipation in addition to the expansion of suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch. In 1859, the Whigs merged into the UK Liberal Party.